


Where the Heart Is

by CorvidRoses



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fluff, Gen, One Shot, Valentine's Day, but then, idk this was supposed to be a comic, this is just oc stuff, very self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorvidRoses/pseuds/CorvidRoses
Summary: sometimes, tis best to be simple and give from the heart
Kudos: 2





	Where the Heart Is

I loathe holidays, they’ve always been quite a bother to me. All they do is mark the passing of time and give the mortals a reason to celebrate their lives. What could be so great about their lives that they need to give it multiple different themes and celebrate at least ten times a summer? Nothing, I tell you. They could do it once at most. 

But the most troublesome one of all? 

Valentione’s. For even Igeyorhm, my wondrously bitter love with a heart of ice, melts for such a holiday.

And annoyingly enough, since beginning my duties on the thirteenth, I’ve often been bothered by a grand inconvenience I thought I rid myself of ages ago. Only this time, it comes in a worse form, tugging at my robes as if it believes it is being “polite.”

“Uncle Lahee? Could you assist me with something…?” The small voice came from beside the ascian, and he grimaced as he made eye contact with the curious scarlet eyes he’d grown to be naturally annoyed by. Her tiny tail was wagging curiously, almost shaking her body with how excited she was.

“For the last time, it is Lahabrea. And why would I assist you in your foolish endeavors?” He tried to bite, but she didn’t really seem affected by it. Gods, where was Dext when he was needed??? He seemed to always disappear when he knew he’d be needed by her! He would have a word with Emet-Selch about this...he needed to keep his play things in line.

The girl backed away now, before pulling something out of the folds of her dress, and showing it to him. From what he could see, it was beginner’s work; a shoddily made paper shoebill with paint splattered over it. It had very obviously been crumpled by being smushed in her dress. Child’s play. Truly.  
“I made this for my Valentione, do you think they’ll like it? The wings move if you pull on them!” He watched as she showed him, flapping them up and down and watching as the neck moved as well. Again, very simple for what she could be doing. Normal sixth summers would be creating cubuses without a strain by now. What was taking her so long?

“It is…simple.” He did his best to remain as polite as he could. Despite his dislike of the other, he knew if he made her upset, it would be his head that Emet-Selch took. The process of finding another body was never easy…  
“Honestly, you could make something much more interesting.”

The girl lowered her gift, looking down to it once more to really get a look at it, before deciding to agree with him. Only the tip of her tail remained wagging, as if she were in thought, before looking back to him.  
“Well would you help me then??? Auntie Iggy says you’re the best when it comes to making gifts!”

She would absolutely be biased, was what he wanted to say, but the flattery worked nonetheless. The child wasn’t given enough credit for how smart she was, despite her annoyingness…

“Please…?”

He sighed.

“Fine…” a pause, as he watched her shuffle with joy, before reaching her arms up, as if she were expecting to be held.  
“But I am not carrying you. You’re plenty capable of walking these halls if you came all this way to bother me.”

Her arms fell to her sides then, and she simply resorted to snatching up his hand and dragging him along, much to his shock and surprise. There was a tired grumble as he followed behind her, avoiding the gazes he was earned as they trekked down the hall.  
—  
“Now, in order to impress this Valentione of yours, you must bedazzle them with awe. Otherwise it won’t be worth your time. A paper bird is...something, but wouldn’t you rather impress them with a grand display of magic?” Lahabrea suggested, watching as the small dravanis curiously eyed the box he was holding, before seeming to reject the idea.

“I’m not sure...father says I’m not allowed to use magic without his permission…last time I tried, I caught his favorite robe on fire and he was so upset, he couldn’t bring himself to cook well for a week-” she started, before she was quickly waved off by the ascian, her bright eyes blinking up to him in surprise.

“Well he can be quite the drama queen at times, yes? Besides, he trusts me with taking care of you. For what reason, I have no sense of why...” He inquired, before watching as the child raised a brow in disbelief. This only made him simmer with impatience.  
“Regardless, we must use your magic to imbue this contraption, otherwise it cannot present itself correctly.”

The child seemed to think it over for a second, before hesitantly nodding in agreement. The gem on her head glowed in preparation, as she touched the box, and watched as it lit up like many of the nodes she was used to powering up. From it, blue flames seemed to lick the top, and she watched with wide eyes. It was then that the ancient removed her hand, confusing her for a moment.

“Ah-ah, that’s quite enough. Any more and you’ll set it off. You don’t want it to do so before he sees it, correct?” He warned, watching her slip her hand away in quick realization, before nodding excitedly.  
“Good. Now be a good little Valentione and see it delivered, won’t you? I’m quite sure he’ll adore this...thing we’ve collaborated on.” There was a forced smile at his lips, almost curling at the edges as she huffed when taking the box. It was rather heavy, but what could one expect from a box full of sensitive, magically charged materials? 

“Understood! Thank you Uncle Lahee!” She chimed, hoisting the box a bit higher as she managed to stumble out the door. And off she went, finally leaving him to his peace and quiet. 

Hopefully, at least it would be until she attempted to bother him next. Honestly why was it that he managed to always run into her and not anyone else? But wasn’t that just like the Architect before her? 

How irritating.  
—  
While she had managed to carry it most of the way, by the end of her trek, Terha had resorted to dragging the box behind her, heaving a final sigh of relief as she landed in front of the throne room’s door. Hopefully, someone will carry it the rest of the way for me, she thought to herself, though honestly she hoped it wasn’t her father. She’d already gone through so much to fuss about a present for him!!

Gently rapping on the door, she heard the distant chatter from the other side quiet down, and in a small moment, the door lit up to open. She stood back a little as she met eyes with Dext, her mentor, and smiled up to him politely.  
“Good Afternoon, sir! I have a delivery for Father!”

He bowed politely, as one would do in the presence of royalty, before glancing down to the curious box at her feet, and reaching to pick it up. He hesitated at her warning to be cautious, before gently taking hold of it.  
“A box? And what, pray tell, might be inside? Or is this a royal matter?”

The dravanis quickly perked up at this, shaking her head with a laugh as she went to take his arm.  
“Nothing is too secret for you, Dext! Father trusts you most!”

The guardsman smiled at this in his subtle way, before shifting the box to one arm, that he could take hold of her hand as he walked her in. She happily obliged, excitedly walking alongside him as they approached the throne.

“Emperor Xande, a delivery for you.” Dext addressed the ruler, who seemed otherwise occupied discussing a matter with a distant, robed figure. The Guard and Princess both knew of him, but never really knew who this individual was. An advisor of the Emperor, perhaps?

“Indeed?” He spoke softly, before his golden eyes fell upon the child, and he ushered the figure to go before turning back to the two, a brow raised in curiosity.  
“Terha, might this be from you?”

The child was quick to nod, motioning for Dext to place the item down before standing in front of it.  
“I made this! It’s a gift!”

“Oh?” The Emperor tilted his head in question, eyeing the black box with...a sense of familiarity…  
“I don’t recall a reason for needing one. What might be the occasion?”

“Valentione’s of course!” She chimed, and she watched as an expression of slight dread washed over his face, his smile faltering in the slightest bit. But she knew exactly why he would be so put off by such a thing, and cut in before he could object.  
“I know what you’re thinking, father…but I’ve been reading books, lots of them! And...in the one I read recently...it stated that Valentione’s is not just a matter of romantic love, but of familial as well, and...I know how you always say you’re a romantic. You...you like being loved, and I love you! So...I made this.” She stumbled a bit at that last part, but nonetheless, her message seemed to get through. His silence seemed to be telling her it was alright, so, with his permission did she place her hand against it. Almost immediately did it light up, and with a flick of her wrist did it open, pouring out little wisps of light that danced around the room, almost resembling pixies. Bursts of pinks and reds and golds flittered about, some sparkling and fizzing, some spinning around and popping off like firecrackers. It was a dainty little magic show, fueled by Lahabrea’s fire magic and Terha’s own minor skills of creation. From her imagination, she’d conjured this forth, and it was a lovely little display of how far she’d come. 

But...then the Emperor watched as one of the dancing golden orbs gradually began to glow brighter, dancing behind her so that she wouldn’t see. This was cause for alarm, though before he could say anything, the orb smacked into a red one, plowing it off to the side like it had been launched from a slingshot and bowling into even more orbs. This caused Terha to lose her focus, her arms halting the rhythm they’d been swaying in as one by one, the orbs were knocked into one another, the heat bouncing off growing stronger and stronger until they began to burst, shooting off sparks around the room and causing the Princess to duck her head in defense. The orbs shot off like lit fireworks, blasting off around the room. It didn’t take long for the guardsman to jump in with his shield, ensuring that no harm was done to the child. It felt like a whole minute had passed among the chaos, before it all came to a sudden stop, and the two looked up to see the Emperor dissipating the orbs with his magic. 

This was a familiar spell he hadn’t seen in quite some time. Trick orbs: a concept that Lahabrea could never quite get to be accepted. The reason being was that he often used them to keep Hythlodaeus awake after spending nights working in the bureau. That he would use it even now to trick the child was...foolish, to say the least. What could she do in her defense? What was he hoping to gain from this other than a bite from Emet-Selch?

When the magic had dissolved completely, he approached the two, kneeling down to their height and looking to the child with concern in his golden eyes.  
“Are you alright, my dear?”

She nodded, and his gaze flickered to the guard.  
“Leave us.”

Dext nodded solemnly, doing as he was told before returning to his station. 

As Terha watched him go, she felt herself being lifted by her father, but his eyes weren’t on her. They were still watching the door. She felt the fear build in herself then, realizing he must have been beyond upset with her. Oh why did she ever think this was a good idea???

“Was this Lahabrea’s idea?”

She nodded, silently, her eyes trying to find something to land on.

Before she felt his gloved hand rest upon her head, moving only slightly to brush aside her bangs. When they met gazes, there was concern in his eyes.  
“You could have truly harmed yourself, you know? I understand you are troubled by how I talk of feeling lonely, but it is not your job to quell such a feeling.” His thumb brushed itself against her gem, and she seemed to relax at the gesture.  
“If I ever lost you because you attempted to do something for me, I would never forgive myself, Terha. So...next time you decide to impress me, leave it simple, will you?” His voice was gentle with his last few words, before his smile returned to him, and it was sincere now. He was a good ruler, but an even better father in Terha’s opinion.

“I promise.” She nodded once more, before her tail flickered as she recalled something important. This caught his eye, watching as she dug around in her robes, before unfolding what looked to be a paper construction, hastily painted grey. However upon closer inspection, he could see that it was a very crude likeness of the royal shoebill, Avius.

“Oh? What do we have here?”

“It’s um…” Terha fumbled, playing with the slightly crumpled creation in her hands, almost too nervous to show it off to him after Lahabrea’s “simple” comment. But...he liked simple, he had just said so..  
“What I really wanted to give you. I know you don’t like me using magic without you so. I made this paper shoebill that Dext taught me to make! When you ah...pull the wings, they both flap, and the neck dips down to drink water! Though, this Bill can’t because...it’s paper. And paper would make it wet.” She explained, before holding it out for him with a timid smile.

When he took it, her heart leaped in her chest, and as he turned it around in his hand with a smile, she settled finally.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, my dear. You always know exactly what to get me, I don’t know why it was that you took advice from Lahabrea.” He scoffed, before using his magic to make the wings flutter on their own, causing the young girl to giggle. It was only a moment however, before his eyes lit up with realization, and he whisked the gift into the air to fly around before carrying her back over to the throne.  
“Oh but forgive me. It seems I’ve been the worst Valentione to date. I’ve hardly prepared you a gift in return. Tell me, little star, what is it that you’d like?”

Terha’s eyes seemed to widen at this. In truth, she hadn’t really considered gaining anything in return. She was only really doing this in case no one else had the heart to give him something. What could she possibly want? Another stuffed creature? Some sweets? A paper carbuncle in return? Oh but she could have those whenever! What was truly something she would love to have right now?

As they seated themselves on the throne, an idea hit her.  
“Could you...tell me a story?”

“A story?” He lifted a brow in curiosity.

“Mhm~ a story about...someone you love. In the spirit of Valentione’s! Because...you love a lot, and I wanna know why you love them!” She explained, tail wagging excitedly as she met his gaze. Though he seemed to be deep in thought at her request, his gaze glued to the floor as he seemed to sift through any memory that...wasn’t too terrible to recall.

And then, he seemed to huff softly, his warm gaze returning to her.  
“How about then...the tale of Ifrita and the Grapes? I think you’d like that one.”

And she would, as he knew she would. For if Hythlodaeus could allow the entire thing to happen, how could he not adore hearing the tale over and over again? If he loved them for being so idiotic...then perhaps Terha would also understand why it was that her father had loved the same idiot once upon a time.

And, if they were so lucky, Mayhap he could have the chance at loving them again.


End file.
